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Devil’s Food Cake

Sometimes I stumble upon something that, almost by accident, becomes iconic. That is exactly what happened when National Devil’s Food Cake Day rolled around and I wanted to make a Devilishly good cake.

Really, I had criteria for the cake that were very basic. I needed to have all of the ingredients in my house. Therefore, I wasn’t going to be using baking chocolate. I was out. What I did have, of course, was cocoa powder.

Not too many parameters. While Devil’s Food Cake is generally a layer cake Daughter Number Four asked if I could make this in a regular cake pan. She doesn’t like frosting. My guess is that she thought it easier to take the frosting off this way.

I whipped up the cake and set it aside to cool. About an hour later I headed back into the kitchen to make some frosting. My original plan was to frost the Devil’s Food Cake with chocolate buttercream. As I was pulling out my ingredients I opted to add one more ingredient and turn this into Mocha buttercream.

This was the decision that my 2 youngest daughters will forever be grateful. I frosted the cake and refrigerated it. No one seemed overly hungry for cake after dinner. What an odd turn of events. However, both girls asked for a piece after school the following day. Daughter Number Four was just about to wipe off the frosting and give it to her sister when she tasted it. She asked if I had made coffee cake.

A quick definition of coffee cake as it pertains to my youngest child. Her favorite restaurant as a small child was a Chinese Buffet in our local mall. For dessert she would get Chocolate Mousse Cake. It is common on Chinese Buffets and is a layered dessert with chocolate cake, coffee mousse, and gelatin.

I explained to her that the frosting was Mocha which is chocolate and coffee. She ate the cake and the frosting. Later, she asked for another small piece.

The following day after school both girls asked if there was any Devi’s Food Cake left for a snack. There was, and I told them to take as big a piece as they thought they could eat. I had already eaten too much cake. D3 took an enormous piece. D4 took a small piece, then immediately cut a second small piece and set it on the plate. She informed me that this is the only frosting she has ever liked.

Through a mouthful of cake D3 said that the combination of the Devil’s Food Cake and the mocha frosting made this the best cake ever. She told me that this was one of the only cake’s I should ever make. Oh, and only with this frosting.

I am so glad that I made this cake. In the past some of my Devil’s Food Cake attempts have not provided the dark chocolate flavor I wanted. Also, some have been a bit dry. This was neither dry nor lacking in chocolate-ness. It feels good to find the best ever.

Do you like Devil’s Food Cake? What kind of frosting do you use on it?